Oflag VI A

During World War II, Oflag VI A was an Offizierslager, a prisoner-of-war camp for officers in the town of Soest in Westphalia, Germany.

The camp was built from 1938 as part of the German rearmament as an infantry barracks, but before its completion, on 15 November 1939, it was given a new role as a prisoner-of-war camp for Polish soldiers who had been captured during the German invasion, under the name Stalag VI E. The number VI indicates in which Wehrkreis it was located. The entire German Empire was divided into this Wehrkreise, and each camp had the number of the Kreis in which it was located. After the Battle of France, the role changed from "ordinary" prisoner-of-war camp to that of officers' camp; on July 31, some 1,500 French officers were detained there. The chapel they decorated still exists and can be visited as a war memorial.
The camp was also used to detain Dutch officers and cadets who refused to sign the Declaration of Honor. At that time, about 1500 Belgian officers were already housed in the camp. There are a number of known escape attempts from the camp; in October 1940, Lieutenant Hans Larive escaped, reaching the Swiss border.
The camp was liberated by the Allies on 6 April 1945.

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